Lambs in the Sunshine

Lambs in the Sunshine

I received the best compliment for an artist this morning. A friend was visiting the farm to do a photoshoot with our new lambs, and had not seen my studio before. After we watched the frolicking of the new babies, we took a peek at my messy, messy studio and I showed her some of the work I did in the Skip Lawrence workshop in Santa Barbara.

Two of the images she viewed are related. The first, “Last Day”, was an experiment in using a more structured, balanced, sharp edged shape composition. When I finished this painting, I felt as if the entire time I worked on it, I was wearing a girdle.

Last Day

“Last Day” Acrylic and Collage on paper 22×30″ ©Ruth Armitage

 

 

I still liked the idea of the round shape, the balanced composition, and the movement of color from top to bottom, left to right. So I tried a second painting with more of my normal looseness, a more subdued palette, and similar shape elements and division of space. Here is the resulting painting:

Last Day II ©Ruth Armitage, abstract acrylic painting, green, violet, red

Last Day II, Acrylic on Paper, 22×30 ©Ruth Armitage

The Compliment

The best compliment, one I will treasure, is that the second painting looks exactly like my work, while the first painting looks like someone else did it. It is always such a welcome compliment to hear that your work has a recognizable style. I’ve written about this before, but it is always so gratifying, so I thought I would mention it again! Here is my original post about 7 Compliments Guaranteed to Make Any Artist Swoon… one that continues to draw readers every day.

Artists, what is the best compliment you’ve ever received? Viewers, what similarities do you see in these two works? Which do you prefer? I love getting your comments.

 

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